Those of us with this unique hair texture need a shampoo that cleanses our hair of gels, butters, oils and any other product we use to create our magnificent hair styles while leaving just enough oil deposited on our hair to keep it from feeling the way scorched grass looks at the height of a summer heat wave.

Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Fortifying Shampoo comes very close to being the solution for every type 4 natural’s shampoo dilemma. The product is designed for dry and damaged hair and claims to provide “stronger, smoother, healthier hair” as a result of the three nourishing oils it contains (hence the name triple nutrition).

Organics Hair Mayonnaise by Africa’s Best is a protein infused cream for damaged or weak natural or chemically treated hair that can be used daily or as a periodic deep conditioning treatment.

Organics Hair Mayonnaise by Africa’s Best is designed to condition, moisturize and add strength to hair that has been over-processed or damaged as a result of daily styling or poor hair care maintenance.

The water based conditioning treatment contains several types of protein (cholesterol, soluble collagen and egg powder) to help restore your hair’s strength and vitality in addition to olive oil to help restore your hair’s moisture. Its hair nurturing power is also given a boost by plant extracts like nettle, rosemary leaf and horsetail among others that help improve overall hair health.

Carol’s Daughter Mimosa Hair Honey Shine Pomade is marketed as an “all-in-one miracle hairdress” that not only puts shine right where you want it but slicks down those sometimes out of control edges and moisturizes the hair and scalp while keeping frizziness to a minimum.

I fell in love with it immediately. Its spiked bristles cut through my kinks and curls without tangling and without even a hint of struggle. As long as I properly moisturized my hair before use, brushing my hair was completely pain free and resulted in little to no shedding. I was convinced I had a winner and promised myself that I would use no other brush on my precious hair.

We all have our preferred methods of washing and maintaining our beautiful natural tresses. No one method is better than the other. What I have learned is that you have to listen to your hair and scalp. Every method doesn't work for everyone. So Experiment!

Naturals in search of a high quality castor oil that smells great, nourishes the skin, and helps them meet their hair health and hair growth goals should look no further than Jamaican Mango and Lime Pure Black Castor Oil.

Jamaican Mango and Lime Pure Jamaican Black Castor Oil is a multi-purpose oil that can be applied to the skin to relieve dryness, used as an aromatherapy or massage oil or applied to the hair and scalp to help hair remain soft, retain moisture and to increase hair growth.

In
a perfect world we would be able to buy the hair products that work best for
our hair at the nearest store for less than what it takes to feed a family of
four. Finding all natural, organic, natural hair products can be a difficult
task.The hard truth is that natural hair care products are given half a shelf of space
or less in many retail stores and that many of the best products start at $10.

When I thought of going natural I would literally feel the stinging pain and throbbing soreness that followed my misguided attempts at combing through new growth, the few inches of thick natural hair that had grown in since my last relaxer. As a result I kept putting off the big chop even though I knew that it was something I desperately wanted to do.

I purchased Jamaican Mango & Lime Transition Natural No More Relaxer New Growth Crème because I hoped it would put my hair styling concerns to rest.

I absolutely fell in love with my first Carol’s Daughter
product, Marguerite’s Magic Restorative Cream Hairdress, because it's designed to
help rejuvenate, repair and moisturize damaged hair.It left my hair stronger,
smelling great and soft to the touch so when I found myself in desperate need
of a leave in conditioner that left my hair nourished and touchably soft for
more than just an hour or two, I turned to the product line once again with the
assumption that all of their products would work equally well for my coarse, afro
textured, type 4 natural hair.

Dry coarse, Type 4, afro textured hair can get hard and become
difficult to style. Picking, combing or brushing this hair texture while dry
can result in breakage of the worst kind and soreness of the scalp due to all
of the pulling and tugging that is required to work through kinks and tangles.The addition of water or water based moisturizing products to this hair type is
essential. Moisture immediately softens hard unmanageable natural hair making
it easy to pick, comb or brush without the fear of pain or breakage.

I
came across the Denman brush for the first time online back
when I was looking for people who were successfully maintaining healthy natural
hair anywhere I could find them. I wanted to do what they were doing so that I
too could be a natural hair success story.

I
was amazed to discover that many of the naturals who had long, healthy hair
looked at the act of combing and brushing their hair differently than most. A
lot of them combed their hair infrequently opting to work through their hair
with their fingers instead. They typically used wide toothed combs or special
brushes like the Denman brush to detangle their hair while it was still damp
after washing or conditioning.

I
was a little skeptical about using the Denman brush at first because of its
unique design but my concerns were soon put to rest. Most hair brushes have segments of bristles
coming out of a solid plastic or wooden base but the Denman brush has
semi-flexible plastic spikes coming out of a flexible rubber like base instead.
The flexible plastic spikes cut through natural hair like a pick does and the
flexible base helps the brush move with your hair resulting in less tugging.Related Article: Product Review: Carol's Daughter Marguerite's Magic Restorative Hairdress

I
purchased the Denman brush for $10 from Sally’s Beauty Supply. I use it often to carefully detangle my hair
after it has been conditioned and for styling well moisturized, slightly damp
hair. I would recommend it highly to any natural in search of the right tools
to care for their hair.Author:Chanel Polk

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Since going natural I’ve discovered that selecting the right conditioner is essential to maintaining the overall health of my hair.

Initially, I continued to use the same conditioner I had been using on my relaxed hair. The results were horrible. I ended up with hard hair that tangled and matted easily. After experiencing a lot of frustration with conditioners, I took the advice of a relative and gave TRESemme' a try.

If you are among the many people who experience dryness of the scalp or itching and flaking, try oiling your scalp with vitamin E oil for immediate relief.

I began using vitamin E oil after hearing a stylist say that he applied it to the scalps of clients who were suffering from hair loss. He literally bought vitamin E capsules, broke them open, and applied the oil directly to the hairline of clients whose hair was thinning near the temples.

I figured trying it couldn’t hurt, so I headed down to Sally’s Beauty Supply and purchased a bottle of Hollywood Beauty Vitamin E oil for less than three dollars.

While using vitamin E oil to promote hair growth I discovered that it also stopped my scalp from itching.

(Editor's note: Carol's Daughter products are now sold only at Target, on target.com, in select Walgreen's Drug Stores and on the Carol's Daughter website.)

About a week ago I decided to treat myself to something really nice so I stopped by Macy’s on State Street in downtown Chicago and headed straight to the Carol’s Daughter counter (Hey, I work hard, I deserve it! LOL).

I had heard many great things about the brand which is at the forefront of the transition natural movement and uses top of the line natural products in its hair and skin care products.